They were Britain’s two great wartime leaders whose friendship helped them overcome bitter political rivalry. Now rare books for sale with inscriptions from Winston Churchill to David Lloyd George seem to bear testimony to their friendship. Or do they? Darren Devine reports

Theirs was a relationship with very modern echoes. Like David Cameron and Nick Clegg, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill were driven together by political convenience.

But years later, after decades when periods of rapproche- ment followed feuding driven by mutual ambition, the pair would speak publicly of the genuine friendship that survived their disputes.

And inscriptions in first editions of Marlborough: His Life and Times, a biography of John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, seem to suggest there was more to their relationship than convenience.

The book was written in four volumes by the Second World War leader, who was a descendant of the duke.

All four, published between 1933 and 1938, contain inscriptions for Welshman Lloyd George from Churchill, written 20 years after their relationship first began to sour.

Though little more than perfunctory, experts at Christie’s – where the books are expected to sell later this month for around $35,000 – say they reveal the closeness between the two men.

In 1938, First World War leader Lloyd George described their relationship as “the longest friendship in British politics”.

And after Lloyd George’s death Churchill said: “Our intimate and agreeable companionship was never darkened... by any serious spell of even political hostility.”

But despite the warm words some experts believe hostility only gave way to friendship when both saw benefit in keeping a lid on the enmity.

Dr Richard Toye, author of Lloyd George and Churchill: Rivals for Greatness, suggests each man only really cultivated the other’s friendship to climb politics’ greasy pole.

He said: “Although there were these protestations of affections the relationship was not as easy or friendly as both of them liked to make out.

“They had serious political fallings out, with Churchill at one point saying the relationship was over.”

Britain’s wartime leaders first met in the bar of the House of Commons after Churchill made his maiden speech in 1901.

At the time Churchill was a Tory, but three years later, when he crossed the floor of the Commons to join the Liberals, the relationship began to blossom.

But in 1914 their friendship began to fracture when Churchill was serving as First Lord of the Admiralty while Lloyd George was Chancellor.

Churchill wanted more spent on building warships, but was opposed by Lloyd George.

The relationship fell apart when Churchill was forced out of his job after the failure of the Dardanelles Campaign between 1914 and 1915 to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia.

Churchill felt Lloyd George should have done more to defend him and at that point said the relationship between the two was over.

But a year or so later when Lloyd George became Prime Minister and Churchill was eager to get back into office the Dardanelles dispute was conveniently forgotten.

Most of the warm words about “friendship” came during public occasions, such as in 1936 when Lloyd George was launching the final volume of his war memoirs.

Then he said: “In spite of the fact that we have fought against each other on many occasions there has never been an occasion when I cannot call Mr Winston Churchill my friend and I think he could do the same.”

But privately, at least, Lloyd George’s assessments of his one-time political ally were very different.

Dr Toye, an historian at the University of Exeter, added: “In private Lloyd George said Churchill would make a drum out of the skin of his own mother to sound his own praises.”

The inscriptions in the four volumes of Marlborough read: “To David Lloyd George from Winston S. Churchill October 1933”, “To David from Winston Oct. 21 1934”, “L.G. from Winston Oct. 1936”, “To L. G. from Winston August 1938”.

Earlier the pair had drifted apart when Churchill rejoined the Tories in the 1920s.

But their shared hatred of Prime Ministers Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain reunited their interests in the late 1930s.

However, when Churchill pressed Lloyd George to join his coalition government in 1940 the Welshman could not be persuaded.

He told his Liberal colleagues: “I shall wait until Winston is bust.”

But despite the Machiavellian calculations that seemed to define their relationship others maintain there was mutual respect.

Lib Dem AM for Mid and West Wales, William Powell, who is also a member of the Lloyd George Society, said: “They were friendly up until just before Lloyd George’s death in 1945. And then Churchill gave a glowing testimony at his funeral.”

Marlborough: His Life and Times will be sold at auction in New York on June 23